


Secret Agent

by assassin_trifecta



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, I only vaguely know what I'm doing here, Not-So-Secret Relationship, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-23
Updated: 2015-04-13
Packaged: 2018-03-19 07:39:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3601800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/assassin_trifecta/pseuds/assassin_trifecta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellana Lavellan is rightfully upset. She had managed to keep her relationship with Solas secret from the men and women of the Inquisition that weren't part of her inner circle and someone - gods help them when she figured out who - had managed to find out and let the information slip. Across all of Skyhold. </p><p>With her personal life privy to anyone who saw her on a daily basis, Ellana goes on a mission to seek out the perpetrator of the crime and punish them accordingly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Secret Agent Bull

It was when the whispers started that Ellana Lavellan finally decided that she could call it official. The Orlesians in the main hall, the Chantry women whispering between themselves when she passed, the soldiers in the courtyard even deigned to join in on the game when she joined them in the pit. Sideways glances from her friends – Vivienne having the gall to look down her nose at the Inquisitor while she stood there, lording over all of Skyhold from her infernal balcony. It all would have been far too much for Ellana, had she not a safe place to rest in between bouts of being stalked by the masses.

                “So, Boss, you and-?”

                “Oh not you too, Bull!” Ellana nearly shouted, slamming her drink back down onto the table between her and the Qunari. “You of all people, please! You _know-_ “ Here, the Inquisitor caught herself, her cheeks flushing a light pink, before she continued, her voice much lower than it had been before, aware that they were not the only gossipers in Herald’s Rest. “You of all people know that he’s been sharing my tent these past weeks…” she muttered, looking down at her ale, her hand roaming to the back of her neck in embarrassment. “Don’t you start in on this gossip too… Unless…” The elf glanced up at the much larger Qunari through slits in her eyelids. “Unless you were the one to start all these rumors, Bull.”

                The Iron Bull laughed, shaking his head before he downed the rest of his ale, slamming the empty tankard down onto the table, though significantly more lighthearted than the Inquisitor had before him.

                “Don’t worry, Boss,” Bull chuckled, reaching across to pat his companion on the shoulder. “No one’s heard anything from me. You know I – of all people – know how to keep a secret.”

                “Secrets?” The familiar voice of their resident secret-teller sounded from somewhere behind the vast expanse of Bull’s back. Varric shifted slightly so that he could be completely visible, leaning against the table with his elbows. “The secrets going around this time are pretty interesting, Inquisitor.” He winked at her, and though Ellana was good friends with the dwarf, she couldn’t help the flare of suspicion that roused inside of her at his gesture. “But you can rest assured that I had nothing to do with them. I may tell stories, but by all means do I know how to keep them safe, too.”

                Though she still suspected him to some degree, Ellana couldn’t help but acknowledge the fact that he was right, Varric didn’t deal in the Inquisitor’s personal life and he had told her before that he never would. The two likeliest candidates for spilling all of her personal information were wiped off the table, but that still didn’t set Ellana at ease. The Inquisitor sighed, passing her palm over her face with one hand and gesturing Varric to join them with the other. She had enough to deal with on the grand scale of Thedas, who would deny her a drink with her two favorite people to drink with?

                “I gotta say, Inquisitor, you’re putting this stuff down like a pro,” Bull interrupted her train of thought with what – gratefully – sounded like a change of subject and another mug of ale. “I didn’t think you elves could handle this heavy stuff. I thought it was all mead and root wine for your people.”

                Varric gave a snort of a laugh and Ellana couldn’t help but join in with him. The elf shook her head, letting her braid fall over her shoulder, too tired to keep flicking it back where it belonged.

                “No, goodness no,” Ellana laughed, leaning up to grin at the Qunari. “In truth, we’re not much of a drinking culture at all – at least not my clan – but when we do, we celebrate well. Sure, there are the older among us who prefer to stick to mead and honey-wines, but there are some of the younger elves who prefer ale.” She gestured to her mug, taking a gulp of it to emphasize her point. “I’m not much of one for the drink, but if it’s what we have, it’s what we have, and if I have to, I’ll pull up a tolerance to it.” She glanced around herself, leaning in conspiratorially, gesturing Varric and Bull to do the same so that no one might hear more of their gossip. “Between you and me,” she whispered. “The clans brew better than this Ferelden swill anyway.”

                It was good to hear Bull’s uproarious laughter, timed with Varric’s low chuckle. Ellana grinned at the two of them before taking another pull from her mug. As soon as she smacked it down onto the table, though, the creeping thoughts came back to her and she could no longer ignore the pressing matter of the rumors spreading quickly throughout Skyhold. A deep sigh escaped her, and she must have deflated rather quickly, because it was enough to even quiet Bull down, for at least a moment.

                “You gonna be okay, Boss?” the warrior asked, leaning forward as though he might have to catch the lightweight. “You don’t look so hot right now.”

                “All this personal business,” Ellana grumbled, waving her hand about so that she might point out that she actually had very _little_ personal business in the first place, now that essentially all of Skyhold knew her secrets. “I wish they would just leave me alone – and I wish whoever spilled the beans would just come clean so I knew what to do with them.”

                Varric’s hand found its way to the Inquisitor’s shoulder, giving her a gentle pat on the back where Bull had smacked her down before. “Don’t worry, your Inquisitorialness,” he grinned, showing her that he was behind her all the way, at least. “We’ll figure out where this mess started from. You just don’t mind it. You’re allowed to have a personal life, dammit, and we’re going to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible.”

                “Wait, we are?” Bull looked to Varric, his brow pulling together, but the dwarf only shot him a warning look in reply. “Oh! Yeah, totally, boss, you can count on us. We’ve got your back.”


	2. Compassion and the Seeker of Truth

Ellana took her leave from Bull and Varric a short time later, claiming that she needed to check up on other members of the Inquisition. In truth, she was doing just that, despite the ulterior motive that seemed to mock her in the back of her mind. _Find out who spilled the beans._ Gods, it sounded so stupid, and she really needn’t stress so hard over it. It was only a matter of time – secrets don’t stay secret forever, especially in a small place like Skyhold. Still, she would have liked to have come out with the information herself, so that nobody would be able to hold it over her. Ellana could only imagine what it would mean for her if a double agent came out to the Orlesian court that the Inquisitor was shacking up with an elven apostate who so happened to have been introduced as her _elven serving man_ at Halamshiral. The Empress would want nothing to do with her, of course, but if the Inquisitor herself were able to give the information away calmly and with an explanation that she didn’t have to bend to the whim of the court…

                A sigh escaped Ellana’s lips as she walked up the stairs to Cole’s stolen corner of the pub. It was never strange to her that he took this place as his own. It seemed to fit him, secluded but warm and watching over everyone, especially in Herald’s Rest. There were plenty of people here that were in need of Cole’s particular brand of ‘help’ that he so insisted on giving.

                “You’re worried that Thedas will think less of you if you have an elven apostate for a courtier.”

                “Hello Cole,” Ellana almost lost herself to hysterics, but that wouldn’t do either she or Cole any good. Despite what Solas had thought about encouraging Cole to be more human, it was always dangerous to stretch him too thin, even now. She didn’t want to worry the young man, or make his transition any harder for him. She would keep her emotions in check, if only for the mental benefit of the semi-spirit before her. “It’s nice to see you too.”

                “You worry that if they find out from anyone else than they won’t listen to the power that you have.” He stated, crossing his arms and frowning. “You shouldn’t worry about that – you’re more powerful than who you love.”

                Though this was only a slight boon for her waning confidence, Ellana smiled at her friend. “Thank you, Cole.” She stated, leaning against the wooden railing behind her. “How are _you_ feeling?”

                There was a moment’s pause before Cole finally spoke, his lips turning up only slightly. “It’s getting easier.” Was his only reply, but that seemed effective enough and he kept speaking, focusing on her again when she only wanted to check up on him. “You’re wondering if I can tell you who told everyone else.”

                Ellana sighed, passing a hand through her hair, her fingers tracing over the slightly raised skin of her vallaslin on the shaved side of her head. She had not fully intended to use him in this way, but she should have known better than to assume that Cole wouldn’t know what she wanted. Despite him being more human, he was still privy to more information in anyone’s head than she was entirely comfortable with. She looked up to him, about to speak, but Cole cut her off again.

                “You’re wondering if _I_ told everyone else.” The rogue’s face turned down into a frown, as though he were saddened that she would assume that of him.

                “I’m sorry, Cole,” Ellana replied, hanging her head again, ashamed that she would think so poorly of him without even realizing that she had been doing so. “The way that you speak sometimes, without thinking about it, I guess it just came to my mind that you were likely to accidentally let something slip… But no, I realize now that you’re more conscious of what you say than that.” She offered him a smile of apology and was grateful to see the nod of acknowledgement in return. “You were right though, I was wondering if you perhaps knew anything about who let the information slip…” She wouldn’t acknowledge that he was also right about how worried she was about the power struggle that might result from any court in Thedas finding out she was shacking up with another elf – an apostate no less.

                Cole’s normal frown seemed to deepen however, and Ellana knew already that he knew next to nothing about the whole ordeal. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, shaking his head. “Now that I’m me, it’s harder to know about everyone else.” He offered her a shrug, and Ellana deflated against the railing, almost wishing that she could just let this whole ordeal come to an end.

                Instead, the Inquisitor only conjured up what she could of a reassuring smile, reaching out to pat Cole’s shoulder. “Thank you,” she replied to him. “For helping soothe the worry.” It wasn’t what she had set up here for, but it was something, and she was truly grateful for it. “If you need anything let me know, Cole.”

                With that, Ellana slipped back down the stairs, waving once to the Iron Bull and his chargers – still accompanied by Varric – as she made her way out of the Herald’s Rest. The courtyard was filled as always with the clanging of swords against shields and the skirmish banter that she was always so fond of, but there was the added undertone of hushed gossip following her everywhere that set her poorly soothed nerves on edge once again.

                “Inquisitor!” Ellana could hear Cassandra calling to her across the courtyard from her usual place slashing against the training dummies near the requisition room. When the elf approached, Cassandra was sheathing her sword and wiping sweat from her brow.

                “How are you feeling?” Cassandra’s first question almost sent Ellana reeling. It wasn’t quite like the warrior woman to immediately delve into emotional business – especially that of the Inquisitor’s. “I heard some recruits talking about it this morning over breakfast and I couldn’t believe you’d told anyone!” She was grinning, and Ellana couldn’t help the wave of dread pass over her. Cassandra – hopeless romantic as she was – thought the information had gotten out willingly. “You’re so brave! I thought you were waiting until the time was right, but I guess-“ Cassandra paused, frowning. “What’s wrong, Ellana?”

                Knowing that her expression must have looked horrible enough to given even Cassandra pause on top of the realization that not everyone in her crew was as intuitive as Varric and Bull when it came to ideas of secret romances, Ellana felt probably ten times worse than she had when she walked into the tavern earlier. The elf sighed, deflating again, her shoulders slumped and back curved rather un-Inquisitorially.

                “ _I_ didn’t tell anyone, Cassandra.” She stated simply, letting it sink in for her best friend, watching the realization – and to Ellana’s slight relief – humility pass over Cassandra’s face. “Someone else found out and let everyone in all of blasted Skyhold know.”

                The humility was quickly replaced by anger. Despite being a hopeless romantic – or perhaps because of it – Cassandra was largely steeped in a special code of honor when it came to secrets of love and personal matters. On top of that, she was hugely protective of her friendship with the Inquisitor, which Ellana was profoundly grateful for. She knew that Cassandra would never have told anyone – in fact she was sure from the start that the other woman was completely off of the list of suspects. It was Cassandra’s rage, now, that further supported her innocence.

                “The moment I find out who did this to you,” The warrior began, her brow furrowing in her anger. “They will be expelled from Skyhold immediately! Permanently! I swear, Inquisitor, I will-“

                “Thank you, Cassandra!” Ellana almost laughed at the woman’s fervor, shaking her head. “Varric and Bull will be glad to know that they have another addition to their task force.”

                At the mention of the dwarf, Cassandra’s eyes narrowed to suspicious slits. “Varric?” She asked, the accusation clear in her tone. “Are you sure that he is not-“

                “I’m quite positive,” Ellana replied, soothing her friend’s coolness toward the storyteller. “He’s proven his innocence enough to me already. He an Bull have taken it upon themselves to launch a personal investigation into the matter, and I trust them _both_ implicitly.” She added the emphasis here, noticing a quirk of Cassandra’s lips that signaled she had her qualms about the Iron Bull as well.

                “Then count me in.” Cassandra replied, nodding her head. “I trust your judgement, Inquisitor.”


	3. Spider and Crow

“I guess apostates stick together.”

                “She’s not an apostate she’s Dalish.”

                “Oh well, forgive me. I thought it was _any_ mage that roamed free from the Chantry was an apostate.”

                “Well they’re not exactly running from the Chantry now- Hush, hush here she comes!”

                Ellana’s eye twitched at the sound of the gossip that preceded her through the main hall of the fortress. Here, she had been hoping to get at least a little bit of a reprieve from the banter, but the visiting Orlesians and the busybody Ferelden noblewomen had proven thus far that they did not, in fact, have any filter, even when the topic of their gossip came striding through the main doors. The Inquisitor paused briefly once she was hit by the wall of whispers, gathering herself and what little dignity she had left.

                The garden. She would find some peace in the garden, surely.

                Ellana made her way quickly through the halls, avoiding looking directly at anyone and wishing that she could just cut off her ears for the sake of not having to listen to anyone ever again. When she opened the door to the garden, however, the only sound there was the laughter of a child and the sounds of relaxing men and women who could have – thankfully – cared much less about the Inquisitor’s personal dalliances.

                “Good morning, Inquisitor.” Ellana was not surprised to see her new advisor, Morrigan, standing just outside the gazebo, her son holding onto her hands and swinging them gently between the two. Morrigan was a surprisingly happy woman, despite her initial disposition at the Winter Palace. She had a remarkably calming presence. “Or is it not so?”

                “I am afraid not,” Ellana replied, smiling at the boy who let go of his mother’s hands and hid behind her back. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

                “Yes, I heard,” Morrigan replied, gesturing for her son to give her and the Inquisitor some time to themselves. The boy ran off happily, skipping toward a bench where he had hidden a book. “You and Solas. It was bound to happen, I can only imagine that it did not get out sooner.”

                Any comfort that Ellana had gained from Morrigan’s presence was quickly dwindling. She did, however, feel able to openly speak with the woman. “What do you mean ‘bound to happen’ anyway?” The Inquisitor asked, raising an eyebrow at her advisor. “I don’t-“

                “Two elves, mages no less, surrounded by the Chantry and out of place in what has come to – by all means – a holy war between Andraste and an evil Darkspawn Magister?” Morrigan’s eyebrows raised high, as though it were impressive that anyone could have _not_ seen that coming. “To be frank, Inquisitor, the moment he was introduced at the ball I assumed that he was there as your courtier.” She shrugged, her arms crossing behind her back. “It just made sense.”

                Ellana’s eyes narrowed to slits as she examined the woman, her lips twisting down into a frown. It wasn’t like Morrigan to goad her on like this – they had essentially become at least moderately good friends in the past weeks. She was a trusted advisor, and had proven herself on multiple accounts to be well versed in Ellana’s culture and Darkspawn lore. Morrigan was a good friend, but she hadn’t seemed aware that Ellana’s relationship with Solas was something of a secret…

                “You didn’t-“

                “Oh goodness, no, Inquisitor,” Morrigan shook her head, thankfully understanding immediately what Ellana had been getting to. “I know a little something about secret relationships.” Here, she laughed fondly, shaking her head. “You see, I was friend to the Hero of Ferelden during the Fifth Blight. My mother volunteered my services to the Warden when it was only she and our current King who were left from the battle of Ostagar. King Alistair – annoying though he was at the time – had managed to rouse first from their bloody skirmish at the top of the tower of Ishal. Lady Cousland, however, had fared much poorer. She was unconscious for hours longer than Alistair was, but it was very apparent that his attraction for her began then and there. He would hardly leave her side, save for when my mother snapped at him for it. The woman herself was clueless, but it was clear as day that she meant the world to him, even if he did not know it himself.” She smiled fondly again, and her attention seemed to shift from the past back to the Inquisitor in front of her. “Though their declarations for each other came much later it was apparent from the start that the two would end up as they did – though their royal positions were rather unexpected.”

                Ellana stared, surprised that Morrigan knew the King and Queen of Ferelden so well. Sure, she knew that the woman had been part of the Hero’s inner circle throughout the Fifth Blight, but it was hard getting any more information other than that out of Morrigan.

                “What I am saying, Inquisitor,” Morrigan continued, clearly amused at the speechless state of the elf. “Is that despite my intuition into these matters, I know how to keep a secret. It never occurred to me that anyone here knew about your dalliances with Solas. Besides, I speak to few but your other advisors and the gardeners – there is little to tell these people besides “Corypheus is evil” and “the Elfroot looks lovely today”.” She gave a small shrug. “Perhaps speak with your Lady Nightingale? She has always been privy to information that needn’t concern her.”

                Before she even spoke of Leliana, Ellana knew what Morrigan was getting to. Morrigan opened her mouth to speak again, but Ellana was too quick. She shouted a hasty thank you to her advisor before tearing through the Garden and toward the library. Through the circular room, she could hear Dorian call after her, but Ellana just waved him off, practically sprinting up the steps to Leliana’s perch.

                At the top, however, the Inquisitor paused. It was very likely that Leliana knew about her relationship with Solas before it even started – much like Morrigan had. Ellana had, after all, spent much of her early time in Haven speaking with Solas about matters of the Fade and the elves. Could she and Solas have given Leliana what the Hero and King Alistair had given to Morrigan? Ellana paused, her foot hovering over the top step to Leliana’s hideout. Would her advisor really let something like that slip?

                “I know what you’re here for, and I can assure you, Inquisitor, that I had nothing to do with it.”

                Leliana’s voice startled the Inquisitor into action, forcing her up the steps and to the crow nests. It was cluttered, as per usual, but it seemed that Leliana worked best in this environment, seeing how efficient she was. The woman was standing before her desk, flipping through an assortment of letters and legal documents that would move on to Josie and then into Ellana’s own hands. It was an impressive sight to see Leliana working so efficiently while her desk remained such a mess – it was a wonder that Josephine got any of the correspondences at all.

                “And before you ask, no, I do not actually have any idea who let your information get out.” The reply was a surprise, but Leliana delivered it to the papers in her hand, rather than to the Inquisitor’s face, which made it remarkably more believable to Ellana, for some reason. “There are some things that even I miss, in the middle of the night, Inquisitor.” Her tone, however, entailed that she knew far more about what happened in Skyhold in the middle of the night than Ellana would have cared for.

                The Inquisitor let a puff of air escape her lungs, and instead of lingering at Leliana’s side to wait for more answers that she knew would take time to come, she leaned over the edge of the balcony, looking down into the rooms below.

                 In the rotunda, Solas was pacing about, a book – no, a palette in his hand. He was painting again. Ellana watched him work quietly, surprised – and a little bit embarrassed – that he worked without a shirt. Ellana could feel the light burning of blush creep up her neck and cheeks, but she paid no mind to hide it here, for there was nothing that she could even try to hide from Leliana, even when the woman was not watching her. Instead, she waited patiently for the spymaster to be finished with her work so that they could speak, watching Solas in the meantime. He worked swiftly, but carefully, standing amidst a sea of tarps and bottles of paints that Ellana could never seem to find to supply him with more.

                “He is truly a sight to behold, is he not?” Leliana spoke from directly beside Ellana after a few moments more, startling the Inquisitor almost to the point of accidentally tipping over the balcony. The spymaster gave a light chuckle, leaning her back against the railing. “I wish that I could help you Inquisitor, but this is just as much of a surprise to me as it is to you. The outing of the news, I mean, not the subject matter. I heard nothing of it yesterday, but I woke up this morning and suddenly at breakfast it was all anyone could talk about.” A frown pulled down at her lips. “Alistair and Ileanna were much less subtle. This is all good credit to you, of course, for managing to keep such a secret just that for so long.”

                Ellana shook her head, pushing herself off of the balcony so that she could lean against the beam beside her to face Leliana. “I wish that it could have lasted longer,” she admitted. “It was going so well, and now all of Thedas will know that the Inquisitor takes an elven apostate to bed.”

                “All of Thedas knows that the _Inquisitor_ is an elven apostate, Ellana.” Leliana’s words were almost as  calming as they sounded. Almost.

                “Most of Thedas chooses to forget that so they can continue to think that I am doing your Maker’s will.” The Inquisitor pointed out, frowning. “They feign ignorance. Like this is all the Maker’s doing and that Andraste chose the right person, but they leave out that I’m an elf, and a mage on top of that. The only appropriate response to me so far has been at Halamshiral.” Ellana sighed, casting her glance down at Solas. She thought, for a moment, that she had spoken too loudly and he had paused to hear her, but she realized quickly that he had only taken a moment to review what he had been painting. “But it seems that the Orlesians, too, have forgotten who I am after I nearly single-handedly saved their entire country and their Empress. Should word get out to the courts that the Inquisitor – not the Dalish mage that they met at the ball – is courting an apostate elf, I would be the laughingstock of all of Thedas. No one will respect the Inquisition’s power after that.”

                Leliana took a moment to think – something that surprised the Inquisitor greatly. “I think you worry too much about your image.” She finally said, further surprising the elf. “Yes, you are the Inquisitor. Yes, you are powerful and yes, you hold entire nations in the palm of your marked hand, but they care little for your social life.” At a stern look from Ellana, Leliana almost laughed. “I am serious, Inquisitor. While gossip is the game of most courts in the world, you must think deeper than this. Fereldens could care less – King Alistair is merely happy that you got the mages out of Redcliff and that you managed to keep Corypheus from toppling all of Ferelden by stopping him at Haven. Orlesians are rejoicing over the life of their Empress – which they will not forget your hand in saving – and besides, every single one of them positively adores a scandal, of which you prove yourself to handle very well. The Free Marches could… well, they could care less of anything besides your gold and your access to various resources across all of Thedas. The only nation that _might_ have a problem with your choice of partner is Tevinter, and we already know how they feel about the Inquisition to begin with.” Leliana paused, smiling at her friend, waiting for what response would come. When none did, she frowned, her brow furrowing together. “Is something wrong?” She asked, studying the expression on the Inquisitor’s face that seemed to be a strange mix of upset and elation.

                “You think I’m overreacting.” Ellana pointed out, though she was mostly relieved to hear how positively Leliana viewed the situation. It was an immense weight off of her shoulder to have her advisor’s input on how the courts would handle such information getting into their hands by anyone other than herself. She should have thought of this sooner – but this was why she had her advisors in the first place…

                “Of course I think you’re overreacting.” Leliana laughed, pushing herself from the balcony so that she could return to her desk. “But if you seek further input, speak to Josie. I would offer my assistance in finding the perpetrator of your crime, but it seems that you already have yourself quite the formidable force on the matter.” The spymaster offered a smile to the Inquisitor and returned to her papers without further advice, the familiar frown of concentration pulling her lips down at the corners.

                Ellana offered a short thanks and a wave before she traipsed down the steps. Dorian was there still, his arms crossed and lips pursed at her. The elf offered him an apologetic smile as she rushed past him, waving off his complaints again with a promise of all of her gossip later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, I didn't expect to see positive results from this at all. Thank you so much, everyone, your input is really much better a motivation than the procrastination of my homework is. With that, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to actively update as much as I have within the past few days. It seems my brief reprieve from writer's block is waning with the upcoming assault of exams that I have.
> 
> That being said, I'll do what I can to keep the creative juices flowing and the updates coming. I don't think I've written this much in quite a while, and it's really very encouraging to see positive feedback :) Thank you all so much!


	4. The Ambassador

“Ellana!”

                When the Inquisitor walked into Josephine’s office, it appeared just as she had expected it would. Papers everywhere – though not in the disorganized fashion of Leliana’s perch – a warm fire, and a frazzled ambassador, her eyes narrowed at the approaching elf. Josephine’s glare was normally a light one and Ellana never had much an issue with the ambassador’s anger pointed her own direction, but it was different when she was walking into the office now. Josephine’s glare was fixed on her with such intensity that Ellana almost staggered back from it.

                “When were you going to inform me of your decision, Inquisitor?” She asked, eyes somehow managing to narrow further.

                Taken aback, Ellana actually did stagger in her step, confused. Decision? Her expression must have given Josephine pause, though, because the woman’s glare relented for the briefest of moments before it returned in full force. The Inquisitor could hardly imagine what Josie was so flustered about until-

                “Oh.” Ellana sighed, running a hand through her hair. “You think I’m the one that told everyone and you’re upset because I didn’t tell you first?”

                Josephine looked absolutely affronted, which was strange for Ellana to witness firsthand. “No,” The Antivan scoffed, shaking her head. “I knew from the start – the two of you are like schoolchildren with your affections, I’m upset that you didn’t tell me that you were going to-“ The ambassador paused, frowning. “What do you mean I think you’re the one that told everyone – who else could have?”

                The pained expression that replaced the exasperation on Ellana’s face must have spoken louder than any words she could have given Josephine. The understanding quickly replaced the outrage, and the ambassador stood, her hands held out in a plea for forgiveness.

                “I apologize, Inquisitor,” the Antivan approached slowly, as though she were afraid to scare the elf away. “I simply thought it was a personal move on your behalf, and I would have prepared something for you to make it easier… I cannot believe that someone would take advantage of you in this way.” Josephine took Ellana’s hands in her own, and though the ambassador was by no means a big woman, she seemed to dwarf the Inquisitor with her mere compassion. “When we find out who did this, I swear to you we will make them regret ever revealing your secrets without your consent.”

                Relieved that Josephine’s rage was directed elsewhere – at least for the moment – Ellana smiled in response to the other woman. “Thank you,” she replied, squeezing her advisor’s hands. “But that’s not why I came here, Josephine.” When the other woman raised an eyebrow, Ellana led her back to her desk, perching herself on the corner while Josephine took her seat once more.

                “I was speaking with Leliana earlier,” the Inquisitor continued. “And before you ask, no, she doesn’t know who let it slip either, surprisingly enough. She advised me to come to you, however, when I expressed my concerns about the whole situation to her. How…” Ellana paused, the anxiety surrounding the whole situation rekindling in her chest, as though her discussion with Leliana was a balm that had just worn off. “How do you think this will affect me in court?”

                Josephine let the silence after the Inquisitor’s blurted question expand so that she could let the information sink in. When it was clear that Ellana almost couldn’t stand the wait any longer, the advisor let out a short, sweet burst of laughter.

                “Oh Inquisitor,” Josephine smiled, reaching out to place her hand over the elf’s. “You shouldn’t worry about that,” she assured, patting her friend’s knuckles. “Even if the courts did have a problem with your choice of relations, I would be able to handle any backlash for you. Besides, I’m sure Leliana has told you already how the Orlesians simply love a scandal. This will not take any power from you, even if members of the Imperial court did seem to have a problem. They most likely won’t, however. You are the _Inquisitor._ Your power stretches throughout all of Thedas and you are worried about how Orlais will think of your romance with another elf?”Josephine chuckled, and the balm that Leliana had given the Inquisitor was settling over again, thicker this time now that it was coming from her more politically inclined advisor. “You should rest easier knowing that you have done what is expected of you. After all, you danced with him at the Winter Palace-“

                Ellana’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. They had been secluded, she had thought! The balcony doors were closed, the ball was coming to an end, how did-

                “Oh please, I had my eyes on you the whole time, Inquisitor,” Josephine practically smirked. “I can assure you, however, that there were no ill intentions or voyeuristic qualities to my observation,” she added quickly. “I simply wanted to make sure that you were alright, especially after being stretched so thin throughout the whole ball.” Josephine patted Ellana’s wrist now, smiling up at the woman. “Your secret has always been safe with me, Ellana. Though, I guess by now that doesn’t matter to you. My job is to protect you at all costs, and I swear to you, whatever that entails, I shall do. You should rest easier, though, knowing that no one in Orlais – least of all the Empress, whose life you saved if you don’t remember – will care about you courting an elf.”


	5. Glitter and Iron

The soothing balm that Josephine had reapplied to Ellana’s frazzled nerves lasted only as long as it took the Inquisitor to step out of the ambassador’s office and run directly into a very upset Dorian. The Tevinter mage glared down at his friend, and though there was lightness and mischief in his eyes it sank Ellana’s heart back down to the floor. Just when she was feeling better about her lack of secrets, just when it seemed as though she might be able to feel better now that there were no more furtive glances and stolen moments in Skyhold, Dorian had accosted her and without doubt wanted every single detail of her heart.

                “Inquisitor,” he started, his arms crossed over his chest, looking more like an upset parent than a gossip-mongering Tevinter noble. “Will you _please_ tell me why Varric and _Iron Bull_ stormed into the library, very much so made a mess of my research, and positively _interrogated_ me on where I was and what I was doing last night?” He was practically seething after working himself up into overdramatics, and Ellana had never seen her friend in this state before. Just as she was about to answer, however, Vivienne and all of her regal attitude strolled through the doors to the loft and stood beside the Tevinter.

                “I quite agree, Ellana,” Vivienne started, her hands on her hips and her eyes expectant. She had rarely used the Inquisitor’s first name, and when she did Ellana always had a feeling that she was absolutely in trouble for something. “Our dear Seeker of Truth barreled through my balcony just moments ago, doing exactly as her title entails.” Her lips pursed and she stared down her nose at Ellana, her chin held aloft indignantly. “Now, I have no problems with a friendly visit, but after being completely antagonized I must say that you should reign in certain members of you inner circle.” She practically scoffed, setting Ellana’s temper on end more on behalf of her friends than for herself, now. “It’s simply unbecoming, especially should they exhibit this behavior _outside_ of Skyhold. To think, Cassandra is a candidate for Divine, what would the people think if she went around interrogating everyone like that on the Sunburst throne?”

                Dorian gave a scoff of a laugh, and that was when Ellana’s temper flew out of her own control.

                “Thank you, Vivienne, for you input,” the Inquisitor replied, drawing herself up to full height. Even though she was nowhere near the size of Dorian or Vivienne, the elf commanded a power that went far beyond the mark on her hand. “And while I apologize for their uncouth behavior and the inconvenience to your research and your beauty sleep,” she gave a pointed glance to Dorian and Vivienne respectively, though it felt more like a glare the longer she held it. “I do not apologize for their actions, which they are performing under my direct permission to root out an evil that I assume they had right cause to suspect either from either of you.”

                Though both mages looked affronted, Ellana saw a glimmer of respect and approval from each of them. She nodded good day to both, somehow keeping her calm façade in check when she left the nobles to watch her back as she strode confidently back in the direction of Herald’s Rest.

The Inquisitor found her party of agents sitting at their usual table, each with their heads bowed together – though keeping a safe distance from Bull’s horns – conspiratorially. Ellana waited at the wall for them to break from their huddle, and when they did Varric was the first to notice her presence, as per usual.

                “Ellana, we’ve got some news.” Varric started, pulling a chair out beside him for her to sit. “You’re not gonna like it.”

                Sighing, the Inquisitor plopped herself down into the seat and let herself fall back, all of the confidence and rage that had previously boiled up lost now that her temper had simmered down and she didn’t have to face Dorian’s accusations or Vivienne’s holier-than-thou attitude any longer.

                “I’ve got some news, too,” Ellana spoke first, taking the silence as her own, though she still felt drained of power. “Dorian and Vivienne just accosted me on my way out of Josephine’s office, and while I appreciate the effort of your investigations, I would rather not make a huge deal out of all of this.” She gave a short, exhausted smile to her friends. She was at least a little grateful to see that even Cassandra had the decency to blush light pink with a little bit of an embarrassed apology.

                Varric reached out and pat the Inquisitor’s arm in a form of an apology, then leaned back in his chair to appraise her exhausted look. “Well, Blackwall and Sera don’t know anything about your nightly love affair with Chuckles, and unfortunately neither do Sparkler and the Iron Lady-“

                “Which is strange,” Cassandra cut him off, perhaps because of the mortified blush that crept over Ellana’s face at Varric’s rather uncouth explanation of things. She turned her glance on the Inquisitor instead, her lips turned down into a slight frown while she was in thought. “Because of Dorian’s close proximity to the rotunda…”

                “Solas is – good at… magic.” Ellana’s words simply fell out of her mouth rather stupidly, she realized only after she couldn’t take them back. Mortified by their stares and her sudden inability to form a proper sentence, Ellana opted to simply put her head down on the table. This act, unfortunately, ended up as more of her slamming her forehead against the wood unceremoniously, which caused an upwelling of laughter from Bull and the gathered company.

                “No!” The Inquisitor shouted against the wood, her cheeks and ears and neck burning bright red in embarrassment. “I meant – I only meant that he’s good at protection spells and barriers…” When the laughter had died down, Ellana sighed, though she didn’t move to lift her head from the table. “When we’re together in the rotunda, he puts up spells so that we’re blocked from the rooms above us. Dorian, Leliana, Fiona… No one can see or hear us.”

                As if just to add to her mortification, when Ellana raised her head from the table she glanced around and only saw wide, impressed eyes, and amusement at the little scandal hidden beneath the gaze of every one of her companions staring back at her. If her cheeks and ears hadn’t been red enough, she was sure they must have been darker than apples at that moment. She let out a groan, and was happy to hear that their silence finally broke, even though it was with another short round of laughter at her expense.

                “That is… Impressive.” Cassandra replied, her own cheeks going red at the idea of the Inquisitor’s well-hidden romance. “Well… so long as he truly cares about your privacy, then I suppose it’s alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken me so long to update, everyone. I kept getting side tracked by an assortment of other projects and, y'know, school. Almost done now, though, I think. It won't be long, from here! Thank you all so much for reading, and patiently waiting :)


	6. The Trickster

Ellana’s last visit of the day, as always, was supposed to be to the Rotunda. For hours that terrible day, she had desperately wanted to simply stay away from the place, making the excuse that she would need to leave Solas to do his work on his own. She hadn’t wanted to disrupt his painting, she explained to the Commander, who was confused as to why she had joined him in the sparring ring instead of being with Solas going over the plans for his artifact revival like she said she would. Cullen had taken this for truth, and Ellana was infinitely grateful that he had little interaction with anyone besides the scouts that were sent to his office, and the other members of her council when she called meetings. He would be slow on the uptake, and even then he had seemed blissfully ignorant. Or really good at hiding what he knew.

                Either way, all throughout the afternoon Ellana had ignored the itching urge to go speak with Solas. She had left the other elf alone in his rotunda to ‘let him work’ while she avoided every mere mention of the man. Truthfully, she knew she had nothing to fear from him, but it was perhaps his lecture about how she shouldn’t care about what the people said, or worse… how she shouldn’t care about him. She didn’t want him to see her getting so worked up about rumors. It might bring up the discussion of how bad he was for her, again.

                Into dinner, still, Ellana avoided every glance of the apostate. She ate in her own chambers, making the excuse of having more work to do, which Josephine was infinitely pleased to actually provide her with. She may have been the magic slinging Herald of Andraste, the advisor reminded her, but she still had paperwork to fill out on her down time. Ellana refrained from remarking that if she was still doing paperwork then it wasn’t technically downtime at all, as she had gone looking for the distraction anyway. Taking it for what it was, the Inquisitor retired to her room with a stack of letters and a plate of Ferelden fowl, potatoes, and a small apple tart that she had grown fond of in her time at Skyhold.

                With the silence that her room afforded to her, Ellana felt she could finally take in a deep breath and relax. The Inquisitor dropped the stack of letters onto her desk and instead of getting to work as she had promised Josephine she would, Ellana plopped herself down before her fire, stretched her legs out on the carpet, and tucked into the dinner that she just realized she had been eagerly awaiting.

                _I cannot go to visit Solas tonight._

                As soon as the thought broke her protective barrier of potatoes and Ferelden gravies, Ellana heaved out a great sigh. She had tried hard not to think about anything of the sort at all, and had distracted herself throughout the day as much as she could have to further avoid thinking about the embarrassing encounter that was no doubt waiting for her in the rotunda, where Solas was probably just waiting for her to come by so that he could lecture her on something or another.

                _For a self-titled romantic, he certainly never passes up the opportunity to harangue me every chance he gets..._

                Ellana set aside her dinner plate when she was finished with her meal and began to tuck into her apple tart. _Is he my lover or my ha’hren?_ She scoffed, unable to stop herself from falling into fits of laughter. Her stress was releasing itself in bouts of hilarity and giggles at her own unfortunate sense of-

                “Something funny, vhenan?”

                The laughter died immediately when Ellana heard Solas’ voice from behind her. Mortified for the umpteenth time that day, the Inquisitor’s skin flushed red from her neck to the tips of her ears. She wondered, briefly, if Solas could hear her thoughts, and the image was so frightening that she immediately replaced all of them with critiques of Ferelden cuisine.

                “Nothing!” Ellana practically shouted, betraying her guilt, though she wasn’t sure what she had to be guilty about. However powerful a mage Solas might have been, there was no possible way that he could read her mind. Still, she did not turn to face him. “Stress.” She declared instead, grateful that it wasn’t entirely a lie.

                “I should have guessed so,” Solas replied, stepping forward and taking her abandoned dinner plate so that he could place it on the desk beside the papers. “Tales of you running around Skyhold all day trying to solve this and that mystery practically had me on edge just hearing them.” He sat at her side in place of the plate, lounging against her couch so that he could face her. “And when you didn’t join me for dinner, I was worried. Josephine told me you were here doing paperwork.”

                Her cheeks still burning, Ellana continued to stare down at the tart in her lap, embarrassed and ashamed of herself. Why couldn’t she look at him?

                “What has you so stressed, my heart?” Solas inquired, still staring at her face, though she gave him no inclination that she was going to look up at any time. He spoke in their shared language now, but that gave Ellana little comfort. Elvish was unfortunately blunt, and his dialect had always been strange to her.

                “You.” The Inquisitor replied, trying to not sound as insulting as she felt she did. By the surprised expression on his face that she could see from the corner of her eye, she had not succeeded. “I mean-“ she struggled with his dialect, trying to do her best to appease him and show him that she had been making an effort to learn what he was teaching her. “I mean only that the spreading rumors have been causing me trouble.” Not rumors, but that was the only word she could find in the limited vocabulary he had given her already. Suddenly, Ellana felt like nothing more than a bumbling, idiot student trying to explain to her teacher something that she couldn’t quite articulate. She felt stupid for bending to the gossip throughout Skyhold and stupid for feeling stupid about it. So what if she was in a relationship with Solas? Just because she was the Inquisitor did not mean that she was restricted from love and passion. She should have just taken ownership of the gossip like she took ownership of everything else.

                “I am sorry, ma vhenan.” Solas replied calmly and quietly, reaching out to place his hand on her shoulder gently. “That the gossip got the better of you.”

                Ellana finally looked up at her lover, feeling more tired than she had in her entire life, even after she had looked into the eyes of the breach and closed the hole in the sky. She felt weak, and like a silly little girl for ever letting herself do so.

                “Then you heard the Orlesians talking about us over dinner, didn’t you?” she asked, sighing as she gave in to lean against his shoulder. Solas’ arm wrapped around her and some of the shame started to dissipate with the warm contact. “I bet they were absolutely ecstatic to see you there without me.”

                Solas gave a gentle chuckle, making sure that he didn’t shake Ellana too terribly. “No, I heard some scouts gossiping this morning when I took my turn around the garden.” He replied, petting her hair to comfort her. “Morrigan and I had a discussion about the troubles of gossip, and - … Is something the matter, Ellana?”

                The Inquisitor sat up to her full height, staring across at her lover. She placed the abandoned tart to her side before turning to glare at him, suspicion in her gaze. “I was in the garden this morning,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “Morrigan assured me she had nothing to do with the gossip, and I know for a fact that there were no scouts there, before noon. I visited Leliana immediately afterwards and you were painting –” Ellana narrowed her eyes, slipping into the common language so that she would not have to struggle with her word choice. “It looked as though you had been painting for hours. What are you not telling me, Solas?”

                The light brushing of color on the tips of Solas’ ears was enough to tell Ellana all that she had immediately suspected. No one from her inner circle had given out any information; it had been made clear already that each and every one of her companions had been innocent, and that there was only one person she had not spoken too throughout the whole day…

                “You told!” She did not stop herself from shouting this time, practically jumping away from her lover, an expression of the betrayed across her face. “You told!” She repeated incredulously, jumping to her feet. “You were the one that let it slip!” She glared down at the other mage, her fury and frustration and embarrassment all unleashing upon him at once. “Solas, how could you have done such a thing?”

                To his credit, Solas actually looked ashamed of himself. “I was tired of you having to hide,” he replied, as infuriatingly calm and collected as he always was. “ _I_ was tired of having to hide. What shame is there in loving someone, Ellana? Yes, I told a serving girl that I was coming from your chambers when she saw me last night, and she must have spread the information. What is there to be ashamed of?”

                “There is nothing to be ashamed of!” Ellana repeated, almost hysterical at this point. She had solved the mystery of who had let the crippling rumor slip, and it was the person that she had least expected, out of all of them. “Except for what the courts think, and what might happen if somehow Corypheus or the Red Templars were to find out about any weakness of mine!” She threw her hands up in frustration, pacing across her chambers while Solas stumbled to his feet to make an attempt to calm her. “What would happen if you were taken away from me, Solas? What would happen if the Inquisition was no longer afforded the respect it deserves because its leader is shacking up with an Elven apostate?”

                “The courts would remember that the Inquisition is led by an Elven apostate, as well.” Solas remained remarkably calm, which only infuriated Ellana even further. “I am sure you have already spoken to Josephine as much, and on this matter of being taken away-“ he paused, reaching out to halt her pacing. “Ellana, there is no power in the world that would keep me away from you,” Solas held his hands on her shoulders, meeting her glare with a warm, comforting smile. “Not even Corypheus.”

                “You still betrayed my trust,” the Inquisitor whispered, her eyes falling to the jaw bone that hung from his neck. “How could you do such a thing?”

                “My intention was never to betray you, Ellana,” the other elf whispered. “But I know now that I hurt you, and I plead that you will forgive me, my heart.”

                Ellana studied the face of her lover for a moment, the honest pain in his expression when she saw that her accusations hurt him. She remembered Cassandra’s earlier words that he ‘truly cared about her privacy’ and thought that if he had really wanted to betray her, he would have stopped putting up their wards, and let all of Skyhold witness their romance firsthand a long time ago. In truth, he had done nothing to harm her, really, only wished that neither of them have to hide from their love any longer…

                “I trust you,” The Inquisitor finally whispered in return, switching back now to his dialect of Elvish as she reached her hand up to place it against his cheek. “And I love you.” Her gaze hardened then, and though she still kept her voice quiet her tone hardened with her eyes. “But don’t you ever do something like that without my permission ever again.”

                A slow, happy smile spread across Solas’ lips, despite the chastisement. “Of course, vhenan,” he whispered, leaning down to press his lips against hers ever so gently. “I would never truly aim to hurt you, after all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All done! A few of you guessed early on what was going to happen, but I couldn't actually say anything until now. Thank you all for reading and engaging with this, it's really the first story I've finished in a long time, and I was very happy writing it. Thank you for all your love and support :D - Sam <3


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